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Two men have been arrested by Northumbria Police following a fire on board a ferry in the North Sea.

We received reports from the coastguard at around 12.05am today of a suspected arson on board a ferry in the North Sea. Officers from Northumbria Police are working with DFDS Seaways and others helping to assist with the situation. Two men have been arrested - a 26-year-old man on suspicion of arson and 28-year-old man on suspicion of affray. They are helping us with our inquiries.

A pregnant passenger was one of the six people airlifted to hospital off the ferry involved in last night's drama. She and five crew members were airlifted to hospital in Scarborough, it's thought all were suffering from breathing in smoke.

The MS King Seaways ferry, with 946 passengers 127 crew on board had left Newcastle for Amsterdam when a fire broke out in one of the passenger accommodation blocks. It is now back in Newcastle. The rescue operation was co-ordinated by the Humber coastguard.

The crew did a magnificent job in putting the fire out. A fire at sea is a very serious matter and could easily have led to loss of lives.

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Passengers on a ferry, that left North Shields bound for Amsterdam, have begun disembarking following a fire onboard.

MS King Seaways left North Shields last night, 40 miles down the coast at Flamborough Head the ferry alarm was forced to return to shore when a fire broke out.

An RAF spokesman has said that a call for rescue for a ferry blaze on the North Sea came in at around 10.40pm for RAF assistance, adding that they thought that 23 people would need to be winched to safety after they had breathed in smoke.

A passenger suspected of starting a fire on board a ferry in the North Sea sparking an emergency evacuation has been detained by ship staff, Humberside Police have said. Inspector Andrew Dixon said:

At approximately 11pm the Maritime and Coastguard agency informed Humberside Police that a passenger ferry en route from Newcastle to Holland had suffered an incident whereby a passenger is believed to have set fire to a cabin.

It is unknown if the fire was started deliberately or accidentally. As a result of this incident the person suspected of causing the fire, or the person from the cabin where the fire occurred, be it deliberate or accidental, has been detained by ship staff and the ship was returning to its dock in Newcastle.

Two passengers and four crew members have been taken to hospital after a fire broke out on board a ferry on the North Sea, ferry company DFDS Seaways said tonight.

In a statement, a spokeswoman said:

Yesterday, Saturday 28 December, a fire broke out in a passenger cabin on the DFDS Seaways cruise ferry King Seaways, which was en route from Newcastle to Amsterdam.

We can confirm that there were 946 passengers and 127 crew members onboard. Fifteen passengers and eight crew members are reported to have suffered from smoke-related injuries. They have been checked by a doctor onboard, and two passengers and four crew members have been taken ashore by helicopter for further medical assistance at a local hospital in the UK.